SAN DIEGO -- Toronto reliever Vinnie Chulk inherited a pretty thankless situation, facing Ryan Klesko with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth inning.
Then again, with the way the San Diego Padres have been struggling in their new ballpark, Chulk had the advantage. He retired Klesko and Terrence Long to preserve a two-run lead, and the Blue Jays went on to beat the slumping Padres 3-0 on Sunday.
Light-hitting Orlando Hudson homered and drove in two runs, and Miguel Batista flirted with his second shutout in three starts for the Blue Jays, who won two of three against the Padres.
In this series, Blue Jays starters Ted Lilly, Josh Towers and Batista allowed just two earned runs in 20 2/3 innings.
"Our pitching has given us opportunities to win games," manager Carlos Tosca said.
Toronto's bullpen has been shaky this season, but Chulk was solid.
"It was a great opportunity for me," he said. "I can't say I wasn't hyper and anxious to get out there and throw it, but I try to keep myself under as much control as I can all the time. I heard the fans going crazy, and all that, but I try to zero it out and go after them."
Batista (5-5) pitched well until loading the bases with one out in the eighth. He retired pinch-hitter Kerry Robinson on a popup to shortstop opening the eighth, then walked Sean Burroughs and allowed consecutive singles to Mark Loretta and Brian Giles.
Chulk got Klesko to pop up to shallow right and Long to ground weakly to shortstop.
"I think Klesko was trying to win the game with one swing," Tosca said.
"He's a big guy, got a lot of pop, so I know he's going to swing for it if he gets a good pitch to hit," Chulk said. "I kept it away from him then went inside and made a good pitch."
Said Batista: "I haven't seen anybody do a job that good this year. That's a hell of a job."
The Padres lost for the seventh time in eight games, and this one was particularly ugly. Catcher Ramon Hernandez had to be helped off the field after straining his left knee making a putout at the plate in the seventh inning, and the fans booed repeatedly as the offense continued to struggle at home.
With Hernandez headed for the 15-day disabled list, the Padres are expected to call up Humberto Quintero on Monday.
The booing, manager Bruce Bochy said, "is well-deserved. We're playing terrible baseball. We're not happy with how we're playing. We are too good of a ballclub to be shut out and sputtering.
"It's pretty simple: you don't get hits when you get the opportunities, that's a problem," Bochy said. "Too many times we've left guys on -- that's why our record is what it is."
Batista allowed seven hits, struck out four and walked three. Two starts earlier, he threw a four-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Toronto, winning 4-0.
Jason Frasor pitched the ninth and completed the seven-hitter for his sixth save in seven chances.
The Blue Jays took two of three from the Padres and won for just the third time in 10 games.
Hudson, hitting just 4-for-42 coming in, got both of his hits off Brian Lawrence (8-5), the Padres' best starter. He hit a solo homer, his sixth, to left field on a 2-0 count with one out in the seventh for a 2-0 lead.
Hudson singled in the first run with two outs in the second, scoring Alex Rios who reached on a double that fell between second baseman Loretta and right fielder Giles.
Gregg Zaun homered off Rod Beck leading off the ninth, his second.
Hernandez was hurt when Howie Clark slid hard into the side of his left knee while trying to score from first on Reed Johnson's double to left in the seventh. Hernandez held onto the relay throw from shortstop Ramon Vazquez to make the out but needed help from the team trainers leaving the field.
Hernandez, acquired in an offseason trade with Oakland, was replaced by Miguel Ojeda.
Lawrence lost consecutive starts for the first time this season. He was beaten 5-2 on Tuesday night by Tampa Bay, which jumped from fifth in the AL East to third by sweeping a three-game series against the Padres.
Lawrence went eight innings, allowing two runs and eight hits, with six strikeouts and no walks.
Notes
Toronto won for just the fourth time in 35 games while scoring three or fewer runs, and two of them were in this series. ... Padres INF Vazquez was reinstated from the 15-day DL and started at SS, giving rookie Khalil Greene the day off. Vazquez had been out since May 21 with a strained muscle in his right side. ... RHP Dennis Tankersley was sent back to Triple-A Portland. ... The Padres went 0-for-2 with the bases loaded, lowering their season average to .238 (15-for-63). With the bases loaded and two outs, the Padres dropped to 3-for-31.
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